


Guardian

by txorakeriak



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Hornblower (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Guardian Angel, Jealous Crowley (Good Omens), Oblivious Aziraphale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-07
Updated: 2006-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27604502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/txorakeriak/pseuds/txorakeriak
Summary: Crowley thinks the angel spends too much time on young Hornblower. The last word hasn’t been spoken.
Relationships: Aziraphale (Good Omens) x Horatio Hornblower, Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Kudos: 1





	Guardian

When Horatio Hornblower was born in 1776, there was no talk of the Antichrist yet. There were other, more serious and urgent problems like, for example, the job situation. Most ambassadors of Heaven and Hell had part-time jobs to make a living; only the Four Horsemen were in permanent employment. 

Aziraphale thought himself lucky to have been chosen for a part-time assignment as guardian angel to the the good Dr Hornblower's newborn son Horatio. From the moment young Hornblower had left school and joined the Navy, Aziraphale had followed him everywhere; not that Horatio noticed it, but the angel was always there. There was much to do for him, many troubles to lead Horatio through, but the angel never complained. The moment he had seen the young man for the first time, he had been certain that he would get him through hell fire itself. 

***

Aziraphale did his best to never let anything show, but it was evident to Crowley that his colleague loved being Horatio Hornblower's guardian angel. Horatio was just Aziraphale's type: righteous, curteous, loyal, and inspiring loyalty in return. Horatio liked books, he was clever (no competition for the demon, of course, but it was not Crowley’s fault that Aziraphale was too blind to realize it), and thanks to his new guardian angel, the boy was a child of luck. 

Horatio survived Jack Simpson, El Ferrol, and the invasion of France, was promoted to lieutenant without even knowing the answer to the only question he was asked in his examination, and he quickly learned that there was more to seamanship than just skilful navigation. He made everyone love him. His enemies were sick or dead, his friends gave their lives for him – though most of the time he managed to rescue them at the very last minute, of course.

Crowley often complained about how the angel hardly visited him anymore. He often told him that there were other people than young Hornblower in the world. Aziraphale always shook his head at that and proceeded to explain that - whereas there were indeed other people - the doctor’s son got into trouble far too easily and therefore needed someone to look after him.

After twenty-two years of just looking at the whole thing from a distance, Crowley had grown too jealous and too annoyed to continue doing nothing. He missed Aziraphale’s presence, his wit, his kind remarks – even though he would never admit _that_ \- and so, finally, he decided to intervene secretly. 

***

Aziraphale never discovered why Hornblower had no manner of luck when it came to matters of the heart. He blamed the court-martial and the difficult times Horatio had been through. A little part of his mind wondered if he could have done his job just a little better, better than his counterpart in Hell, and Horatio would have led a happy, romantically satisfying, and maybe a little less eventful life.

The day he received a letter from the Higher Office with a new and more important job to do, he left Hornblower’s side with just a little ache in his heart. He would not be a part of the young man's life any longer, but on the bright side, his new job was morally complex enough that he would get to see someone else more often: a certain representative from Hell who he had officially grown to tolerate (and secretly quite a bit more than that - though he would never admit _that_ out loud), and who was actually, deep down, quite a good person. 

_Oh dear_ , he thought. It would serve him right if all of Aziraphale's efforts to bring out Crowley's inner goodness had been for nothing and the demon gone back to his wicked ways entirely after having been deprived of the angel's company for so long.

***

The next time Aziraphale stood on Crowley’s doorstep with quite a mess of an apology, the demon decided that - while it was absolutely within his rights to be mad at him - he would welcome him back with open arms and never mention the subject of Horatio Hornblower ever again.

Little side-swipes excepted.


End file.
